Discussion is presented on the use of the photoisomerization of azobenzene chromophore in the design andpreparation of novel functional materials. The two systems reviewed are azobenzene polymer-stabilized liquid crystals andazobenzene elastomers. In the first case

a polymer network containing azobenzene moieties is used to optically induce andstabilize a long-range liquid crystal orientation without the need of treating the surfaces of the substrates. This optical and rubbing-free approach was applied to nematic and ferroelectric liquid crystals.In the second case

an azobenzene side-chain liquid crystalline polymer is grafted onto a styrene-butadiene-styrene triblock copolymer to yield a photoactive thermolastic elastomer.Coupled mechanical and optical effects make possible the formation of diffraction gratings that may be useful for mechanically tunable optical devices.